Community

A cohort of Uttoxeter volunteers took to the streets to litter pick, as part of the Daily Mail’s Great Plastic Pick Up.

On Sunday 13th May, 36 volunteers, of all ages, turned out to help pick up the harmful litter that pollutes our town. The group took to the residential and communal areas of Uttoxeter to help shift a variety of plastic litter. Adorning the streets were a plethora of plastic bottles, cans, glass bottles, plastic straws and a large amount of other waste, including over 500 cigarette butts which were collected. In total, there were 27 bags of litter cleared from the streets – 9 bags of which were recyclable.

The volunteers were made up of mainly families as well as a team from the local Waitrose store, and our Deputy Mayor Councillor Zdzislaw Krupski, who is currently spearheading a campaign to make Uttoxeter the first plastic free town in Staffordshire.

Kate Copeland, event organiser said “We were absolutely thrilled with the turn out and the enthusiasm of the group. Everyone was so passionate about keeping our town clear of litter and were asking us to make it a regular event, which we have! Dates for the next litter picks will be announced shortly. I’m so very proud of our town and our community.“

The event was part of a national campaign run by the Daily Mail, who is stepping up its war on plastic, in partnership with Keep Britain Tidy. The local pick up was coordinated by Uttoxeter community group, The Globe Foundation, who hope it will raise awareness of the amount of litter that pollutes our town and the great efforts (and cost) taken to clear it.

Globe is currently fundraising for a related project called Litterbug Plastics, the project will collect plastic litter from the town and remould into new reusable items (such as bowls, cups, chairs) to be used for community benefit. They will be hosting a fundraising evening of live music and cocktails at Bear Coffee on Friday 20th July to support their crowdfunding. For more information on this project or the event please visit crowdfunder.co.uk/staffordshire-litterbug-plastics

If you would like to join the growing army of litter heroes, please register your interest at one of our events via globefoundation.org.uk/events